Religious Leaders Cite Duty to Oppose High Court Marriage Ruling

Bishop Joseph Strickland (shown), the leader of the Catholic Diocese of Tyler, Texas, has written a statement condemning the Supreme Court’s June 26 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, mandating recognition of same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Strickland’s letter will be read to parishioners attending at Mass at all churches throughout the diocese this July 4 weekend. The letter begins:Let me unambiguously state at the outset that this extremely unfortunate decision by our government is unjust and immoral, and it is our duty to clearly and emphatically oppose it. In spite of the decision by the Supreme Court, there are absolutely no grounds for considering unions between two persons of the same sex to be in any way similar to God’s plan for marriage and the family. Regardless of this decision, what God has revealed and what the Church therefore holds to be true about marriage has not changed and is unchangeable.In urging conscientious objection to the High Court’s ruling, Strickland employed the principle first stated by St. Augustine as “Lex iniusta non est lex” or “An unjust law is no law at all.” Strickland’s application of the principle to Obergefell v. Hodges states:

 

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